London’s Gatwick Airport faced major operational disruption on Sunday after a power outage at a nearby water treatment facility interrupted water supplies across both airport terminals.
According to a statement posted by the airport, the outage affected essential services, with flushing toilets becoming inoperable and several restaurants and bars forced to close temporarily. Passengers also reported the disruption on social media, sharing images and complaints about the lack of running water.
Gatwick Airport said bottled water was being distributed to passengers and staff while contingency measures were put in place to minimize the impact.
“Bottled water is being made available to passengers and staff across the airport and other contingency measures are being put in place to ensure the welfare of our passengers,” the airport said.
The disruption was traced to a power failure at SES Water’s Bough Beech Water Treatment Works, which caused low water pressure and temporary water supply losses for customers across the area.
SES Water confirmed that Gatwick Airport was among the affected locations and said engineering teams were working to restore normal service as quickly as possible.
“Gatwick Airport is being affected but we are working with them while our teams work to restore normal service as quickly as possible,” the utility company said.
Despite the disruption, there were no immediate reports of flight cancellations directly linked to the water outage. However, passengers were advised to allow extra time and check with their airlines for any updates while airport authorities worked to restore normal operations.